By Scott Pariser
Pariser Industries, Inc.
Benchmarking and tracking operational data is key to proper laundry management. National statistics, although not always a definitive goal for each and every laundry operation, can serve at a minimum as a guideline for managerial reference points in terms of laundry overview.
Even if national statistical benchmarks are unavailable to a laundry manager for comparison, tracking operational data from week to week, or longer period to period, enables one to establish a feel for individual operational production level norms, so that variations to the norm, up or down in the future, can be observed, evaluated and learned from. For example, why have our resulting statistics changed negatively from one period to another, or what happened positively speaking, when we made what we hoped was a beneficial operational change over the most recent period?
Specific data that has proven beneficial to operation management over time has included, but is not limited to the following:
- Pounds of clean linen produced per period
- Pounds of Rewash as a % of total production
- Rag-Out (Linen that is not reclaimable) as a % of clean linen produced
- Pounds of Linen Processed Per Operator Hour
- Labor cost in $/Operator Hour
- Utility Costs (if able to be determined) as $/LB clean linen produced
- Linen Replacement in $/LB
- Total cost to produce a lb of clean linen
- Hours worked without a lost time accident
By tracking the above data, and either comparing these numbers to other “similar” operations or simply monitoring same after operational modifications are made, the laundry manager can more effectively manage and direct the successful outcome of their individual operations.